


Home (Star Trek Iskandar)

by mwkilburn



Category: ITU Trash Crew, Star Trek, Star Trek: Iskandar
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-07-01 10:49:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15772602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mwkilburn/pseuds/mwkilburn
Summary: Set between the missions of the Star Trek Iskandar crew. A small scene that reveals a little more about Ensign Samuel Cayce's backstory.





	Home (Star Trek Iskandar)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PraxisDescends](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PraxisDescends/gifts).



‘Did I mention that Commander T’Landra has arranged a weekly booking in the Holodeck for the Science officers?’

‘No,’ replied Mina.

Cayce nodded. ‘She’s been working on getting recreations of sites of unique discovery for us to study in, and I asked that Castor IV be one of the first ones on the schedule.’

‘That’s fantastic!’ said Mina, ‘and very kind of the Commander to organise that for you. Does this mean you’ll be seeing a holographic version of me tromping about in my atmospheric suit?’

‘Unlikely,’ said Cayce. ‘We’ll be the ones in the suits.’

‘That’s a relief,’ said Mina, stroking her jaw. ‘Goodness knows with all these Starfleet contracts, I might well have signed over my likeness to them at some point.’

‘They’d be very lucky to have your image,’ said Cayce with a smile.

‘That’s more like it,’ said Mina, gesturing at him from across thousands of lightyears.

‘What do you mean?’

‘That’s the first time you’ve smiled this entire conversation. I was beginning to think that the viewscreen had frozen.’

‘Oh,’ said Cayce, shifting back against his chair.

‘What’s the matter?’

‘Nothing, I promise. I just had a bit of a… fight, that’s all.’

‘A fight?’ Mina's voice lifted with an inflexion of concern.

‘Not a fight, it wasn’t an altercation with any degree of hostility behind it, more a pulling of rank.’

‘What happened, Sammy?’

Cayce shrugged a shoulder. ‘I was apparently being disruptive during an Engineering briefing.’

‘Dear heart,’ said Mina, ‘you’re many things, but you’re not disruptive.’

‘I was apparently being a know-it-all.’

He glanced back to the viewscreen at that and saw the moment on his mother’s face where she bit back the urge to make a sarcastic comment. He knew precisely what she nearly said, too. 

_ Well, you are  _ that _ , Sammy. _

He responded to her guilty smile with a kind one, a mutual recognition of what had gone unsaid.

‘What happened specifically?’ she continued.

‘I observed that there was no need for a complete diagnostic scan of all of the transporter pad’s internals.’

‘Okay,’ said Mina.

‘Because Lieutenant Compton had already provided the data of our transport back off the Atlantis, showing that any axis disruption that might have been caused by Mallory’s leaping off the pad during its engagement had already been accounted for by Displacement Adjustment Processors. The DAPs are there specifically to stop there being any damage done to the systems through desynchronisation – ’

‘Sammy,’ cut in Mina, ‘you lost me after “axis.”’

‘Sorry,’ mumbled Cayce. In summary, the systems that stop the pad breaking itself had already stopped it breaking itself, but Lieutenant Strange was insisting on adding a full eighty hours of work to everyone’s plate.’

‘He’s new to the job,’ said Mina, ‘It’s understandable he’s being cautious.’

‘It’s a waste of time,’ said Cayce.

‘Is that what you said to him?’

The Ensign looked aside.

‘No,’ he said. ‘I said pretty much everything I just said to you. And about the time you cut me off, Strange took the opportunity to remind me that my participation in Engineering debriefings was not mandatory.’

‘That seems rather curt,’ said Mina.

‘He didn’t quite put it like that-’ Cayce began.

‘Who put it like what?’ came a distant voice, and Mina span around in her chair to greet Riley.

‘Our boy’s on the viewscreen,’ she said delightedly.

‘Hello Sammy,’ said Riley. Judging by the grey jumpsuit she was wearing, she was about to go on shift at the labs.

‘Hello, Mum,’ said Cayce.  

‘He’s not getting on well with the new Chief Engineer,’ said Mina, too loudly for Cayce not to hear.

‘It’s fine,’ said Cayce. ‘Mina, you’re making it out to be more than it is.’

‘Sounds like they’re being a piece of work about his attending engineering briefings,’ said Mina.

Riley looked at the screen. Thankfully, after thirty years, Riley had long since learned to get both side of the facts before listening to her wife’s opinion.

‘It honestly wasn’t that bad,’ said Cayce. ‘I just disagreed with how much work Commander Strange has been giving us. It’s all fresh diagnostic suites and regrading of minor repairs.’

‘Captain Athan is signing off on it all, I take it?’ asked Riley.

‘She is,’ said Cayce.

Riley nodded for a moment, thinking.

‘You know,’ she said eventually, ‘if you ever want some shore leave back here, you know you’re welcome to come see us. We can put in a request through Captain Athan.’

‘I – thank you?’ said Cayce. ‘That was never a concern of mine.’

‘And you know that when you get back to the  _ Iskandar _ , it’ll be the same ship as it was without you.’

Cayce grew perplexed, but knew better than to interrupt his mother before she got to the end of her point.

‘It doesn’t matter if Starfleet spend their time fitting an entirely new transporter array in for no reason, or they finally strip out and refit the wires from above the warp core console to fleet standard-’

He knew what she was driving at now, and he saw her register it on his face. Unlike Mina, Riley double-down on these sorts of things.

‘It’ll still be the same  _ Iskandar  _ as it was a month ago, that it was  _ two _ months ago. That it was a year ago.’

_ The same  _ Iskandar  _ that it was with Anderson _ .

He had realised how much he’d been bristling at some of the minor faults – replacement of loose chassis pieces and refitting of underdeck cabling.

‘It’s important for an unestablished Chief Engineer to make a good first impression to Starfleet,’ said Riley. ‘There’ll be a peer review in three months to work towards.’

‘I understand,’ said Cayce. He smiled slightly, and both parents returned it, though Mina’s was a little less convinced.

‘Right,’ said Riley. ‘I’m going to work.’

‘I have some reports to finish up,’ said Cayce. ‘I love you mum, I love you Mina.’

‘We love you, honey,’ said Mina.

‘We’ll talk soon,’ said Riley. ‘Don’t forget about shore leave.’

‘I won’t,’ assured Cayce. ‘I’ll be on a shuttle back to Castor IV if I need you, don’t worry.’

He sat there for a while once the screen had winked out. The implication of his mother’s words had been clear. Don’t blame Lieutenant Strange for fixing the problems that had been left in Anderson’s wake. It wasn’t an erasure of her – Strange was just doing his job.

_ But it should never have been his job to do _ , he thought. Regardless of how hard he tried, that was what his mind turned back to.  _ It should never have been his job to do _ .

The door chime rang. When he went to the door, he had to lift his gaze to meet the First Officer’s eyes.

‘Commander T’Landra,’ said Cayce.

‘Ensign,’ said T’Landra. Her eyes lifted briefly to look at the room behind him, then just as quick returned to him. ‘You will forgive me for intruding on your downtime, but I’ve been informed that the Castor IV program has been successfully been added to the Holodeck. I wanted to extend the opportunity for you to join me on its first run.’

‘That’s very kind of you, Commander,’ said Cayce.

‘It seems fitting,’ said T’Landra, stepping back from the door. ‘You are the best equipped of all of us to attest to its accuracy.’

‘You’re right,’ said Cayce. ‘Very well, Commander. Let me show you a little slice of home.’


End file.
